Shmee.Me

August 22, 2013August 22, 2013

What To Think About Kickstarter

Kickstarter is a company that was started in 2009 by Perry Chen, Yancey Strickler, and Charles Adler as a way to fund projects. The projects can be anything from video games to car parts. If you need money to build or start something you can always see if Kickstarter will help you out.

The way the funding works is that say I want to create a video game, and I need $500,000 to make it happen. Then I would ask for that and say what my game is about, when it will be done, and whatnot, but I would also have reward tiers, so say you give me $20 then I will give you a copy of the game, or at $35 I will give you the game and a T-Shirt. Some projects like to say that you are investing, but that is not the case. You are giving money to these people so that they can make something you want. I guess as rewards they could give you stock or something, but I am pretty sure that would get Kickstarter in trouble for unregulated stock trading.

Kickstarter has come under fire lately because some high profile projects have collapsed, or been proven to be frauds. Kickstarter does have it in the terms of use that if you cannot create what you said you would that you have to give the money back, but it does not give a timeline, and there is no real enforcement, so there is a bit of buyer beware.

I still feel that Kickstarter is fun and worthwhile, but like with all things in life do it with moderation, and I have put together my tips for using the site.

Don’t Kickstart a project with money you don’t have: It seems obvious but when projects fail it is the biggest complaint that people funded the project with money they didn’t have, now they are getting nothing.

Expect delays: Most of the people on Kickstarter have never run a business or funded a product before, so it can take some time to work things out, but usually they pull it out, just later then they said they would.

Remember that you are pre-ordering not investing: People like to rant and rave when a decision is made that goes counter to what they want, but they aren’t investors, so they should calm down and see how it turns out.

I totally think people should use Kickstarter to help other people accomplish their dreams, but just be careful and look in to what you are Kickstarting.

August 21, 2013August 21, 2013

Shmee Plays Halo Spartan Assault!

Halo Spartan Assault is a twin stick shooter that is obviously based in the Halo universe, but it does not contain Master Chief. The game was released for Windows 8, Windows RT, and Windows Phone 8 devices.

The story follows Commander Sarah Palmer and Spartan Edward Davis as they mow down rouge covenant troops that attack the planet they are stationed on shortly after the Halo 3 ceasefire, and before the events of Halo 4.

The gameplay is simple. You have one joystick area to move your troop, and one joystick area to tell your troop where to shoot. There are also buttons to activate grenades and special abilities. The problem for me is that I have big hands, so when I am playing on my 4.7 inch screen, I am covering half the action, so it can get a bit frustrating at times.

Still for a phone game it is pretty fun, and I like it when they explore other parts of the Halo universe besides the Chief and Cortana, and it does still feel like a Halo game, but I think it would be better if I had one of those gamepad attachments.

August 20, 2013September 9, 2013

The Gandmasters with RZA!

Do you like Kung Fu movies? Do you like cool 1930’s style? Do you want to see that mashed up with a track from RZA? Then you are in luck because they released a great new trailer for The Gandmasters! Enjoy because I know I did!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4E1YjUo3EY

August 19, 2013

I Revisit Robin Hood!

Disney recently re-released Robin Hood on Blu-Ray. Robin Hood was never considered to be one Disney’s top classics, and that is probably why this re-release was not given the fanfare of a lot of their films, but it is still well thought of, and since my wife is a Disney freak, I decided to buy it for her.

The film follows an anthropomorphic fox version of the titular character as he works to steal back the money that was taxed from the poor by interim king lion Prince John. Robin Hood is also trying to win the heart of the beautiful vixen Maid Marian.

The film is super simple, and does not tell a deep story, but it is effective. The shots of all the poor animals in chains are quite moving, and they play Robin as the perfect likable rouge doing what he can to help the people out.

The upgrade to Blu-Ray has done wonders for this film, and it looks great in high definition with its bright colors and well drawn characters. Some people complain that some of the detail is lost when these old movies are upgraded, but I can see none of that here, and it definitely looks better than a VHS version would on a big screen.

This movie is simple and makes me smile. It has fun characters and a big heart. If you are a Disney collector than the Blu-Ray is a must buy, and if not it is still worth it because it is a fun family film that can be enjoyed for generations to come.

August 17, 2013August 17, 2013

Chillin’ with Seven Psychopaths

Seven Psychopaths is a 2012 film written and directed by Martin McDonagh (In Bruges). Much like In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths is about violent men, but this movie is much more self aware and strange, and even now I am not sure whether I loved it or hated it, but I do know it made me think.

The film fallows Marty Faranan (Colin Farrell), who is trying to write a new screen play for a movie called Seven Psychopaths. He is having writers block, so his friend Billy Bickle (Sam Rockwell) is trying to help him by pointing to real life killers through either the news or an add in the news paper asking the psychopaths to come to him. Billy has a side business with Hans Kieslowski (Christopher Walken) where he steals dogs and Hans plays the good old man that found the dog for reward money. Business is good until they steal a dog from Charlie Costello (Woody Harrelson) a local mob boss and psychopath, and now all their lives are in danger.

This is one of the more bizarre movies I have seen in awhile. It feels like you are watching the movie being written right in front of you, and Martin McDonagh has a lot to say. He knows you are watching the movie for a funny violent buddy comedy, and he does give that to you partially, but he also uses Marty to rag on the current state of film scripts, with their dumb over top action sequences, or poorly written women that are only there to die or be eye candy. Giving the film a very meta feel. It is almost like he doesn’t like the genre of film he made.

The violence in this film is strange as well. It alternates between the dumb over the top kind, but then during the psychopath interviews it gets very real and graphic, and at times horrifying. McDonagh is subverting what you started to watch this movie for, and instead showing you what this would really look like, and it is not something you are in general really wanting to see.

The actors are all great in this film. If you know me, then you know that you know that anything with Christopher Walken gets bonus points, and this part was obviously meant for him. His character is strange, but still totally relatable. Sam Rockwell’s character almost represents the dumb movie this could have been by just being off the wall crazy, but since he is such a good actor he pulls it off. Colin Farrell’s character is in the movie mostly to observe the madness, so his role is not as dynamic, but he plays it well.

If you are looking for a movie that is a change from the norm than Seven Psychopaths might be it. Like I wrote before, I am not sure how I totally feel about this movie, mostly due to its graphic nature, but after I watched the movie it left me thinking, and that is a good thing.